Family of Deceased 8-Year-Old Bullying Victim Sues School District

The lawsuit alleges school officials withheld information that could have saved a young boy's life.

The family of Gabriel Taye, an eight-year-old boy who committed suicide after being bullied at school, is suing Cincinnati Public Schools. Taye was a student at Carson Elementary, and his family claims that the school withheld information that could have saved his life. On January 24, 2017 Taye was assaulted in his school’s bathroom and knocked unconscious, according to NBC News. Two days later, he hung himself, the report says.

According to the lawsuit, Carson concealed details from the assault that were later revealed when surveillance video was released. The suit alleges that the school’s decision “prevented his mother from seeking appropriate treatment.” Without knowing that he had been assaulted, Taye’s mother continued to send him to school.

Carson Elementary has only documented a “handful” of bullying incidents, but the suit alleges that ““aggression, violence, bullying, intimidation and harassment” are endemic. The district released a report on bullying, but failed to mention the incident at Carson or its effect on Taye and his family. Carson’s behavior logs show incidents of physical and emotional violence, including an incident in which a third grade student told a girl that he wished he could rape her by gunpoint after throwing a chair at her.

Carson Elementary never notified Taye’s family of the bathroom assault. They only found out after their lawyers read the description of surveillance footage in the police report. The district released a statement in May saying that they were unaware an assault had taken place.